Food stamps are one of the biggest of the government’s many rackets. From James Bovard at jimbovard.com:
The plight of 42 million food-stamp recipients is the federal-government shutdown’s most inflammatory issue. Federal judges ordered the Trump administration to pay food-stamp benefits regardless. Team Trump first offered to pay 50% of this month’s benefits, then raised its bid to 65% and now says it will pay 100% while appealing the court case.
Democrats and their media allies claim President Trump is “weaponizing hunger.” Full benefits will likely be paid in the coming weeks as Congress and Trump end their standoff.
Federal spending on food stamps — also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — has soared from $17 billion in 2000 to $100 billion last year. How did so many Americans come to rely on Washington for their next meal?
For the foreseeable future, millions of Americans will need government help to feed themselves. But tens of millions of other people have been swayed or bribed to accept handouts they did not absolutely need. Food-stamp enrollment exploded as a result of political propaganda, bureaucratic racketeering and a perpetual federal assault on self-reliance.
The feds paid states beginning in the mid-1970s to conduct door-to-door recruiting campaigns. Wisconsin distributed thousands of copies of a Food Stamp Nursery Rhyme Coloring Book, while Kentucky relied on a traveling puppet show to spur enrollment. A federally funded leaflet in Maryland showed a gaunt face with the question “Did you know some people would rather STARVE than seek HELP?” “PRIDE NEVER FILLS EMPTY STOMACHS,” it said inside. “Food Stamps should NOT be confused with CHARITY! In fact, food stamps are designed to help you help yourself.”
